Injection molder goes green with hydraulic fluid

Nunc A/S, Kamstrup, Denmark, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of
injection molded, disposable plastic products for use in connection with cell
cultivation, molecular biology, and immunology.

Nunc A/S, Kamstrup, Denmark, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of injection molded, disposable plastic products for use in connection with cell cultivation, molecular biology, and immunology. Its global customers include hospitals, research centers, and diagnostic and pharmaceutical companies, so its products must be of the highest quality and consistency.

Environmentally responsibleNunc's operations extend to the environment and how it deals with the waste it produces. This diligence led the company to Petro-Canada, Mississauga, Ontario, a manufacturer of lubricants and hydraulic fluids.

"We are a very environmentally responsible company," said Rune Laursen, technical purchasing assistant at Nunc, "and we discovered-that Petro-Canada has a hydraulic fluid that is inherently biodegradable. This piqued our interest, so we contacted Petro-Chem A/S, a local distributor. Our environmental coordinator and I went through the specifications of Environ MV and weighed the pros and cons. Even though the oil is more expensive than regular hydraulic oils, we decided to try it.

"Our experience with Environ MV is that it initially is clearer than other oils, and it stays clear longer. This makes it easier for us to monitor," continues Laursen.

One big reason for Environ MV's non-toxic qualities is that it contains no heavy metals, such as barium or zinc. In fact, conventional hydraulic oils may contain up to 390 PPM of zinc, magnesium, and calcium, whereas the concentration of these substances is negligible in Environ MV. This is one reason why Environ MV was found to be non-toxic in testing with trout and daphnia. Furthermore, biodegradabilty of the fluid exceeds 60% within a 28- to 90-day period.